The former US second-in-command Dick Cheney, who has died at the age of 84, was considered one of the most powerful incumbents of that position in American history. While many VPs were confined to marginal or figurehead roles, Cheney held huge sway during the presidency of George W Bush, to such an extent that he was frequently referred to as the "actual president".
Bush resented that description and stated the relationship was more complicated. He noted that Cheney was courteous, invariably addressing him in public as the President, while he referred to him as Dick. Bush challenged even portrayals of their association as a collaboration because it implied that they were equals. In spite of these denials, Cheney considered the easygoing president accommodating on a wide array of policy decisions.
The Post-9/11 Era
Leading of a contingent of conservative hawks that included military head Donald Rumsfeld and assistant defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, he pushed hard for the invasion of Iraq in 2003 in answer to the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington. During of the 9/11 strike, Bush had been participating in a session at a educational institution in Florida. While Bush made his way to a secret bunker in Nebraska, Cheney took charge, ordering the destruction of any non-communicating aircraft heading toward the government building.
Cheney said the strikes transformed him, causing him to be determined on revenge. Along with other neo-conservatives, such as Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, he lobbied for a occupation of Afghanistan in an endeavor to capture Osama bin Laden. Cheney then pressed fiercely for the military action of Iraq, although there was insufficient indication of Saddam Hussein playing a role.
Disputed Policies
He expressed no regrets about the invasion, in which an approximated 100,000 Iraqis died, and not about the enhanced interrogation of detainees rounded up after 9/11. He told CNN in 2015 that the Iraq invasion effort, which was predicated on faulty reports circulated by Cheney, was the right path to take. "It represented the proper decision to do then. I was convinced back then and I believe it today."
However even at the time, there were dissenting voices at a high level about the mishandling of Iraq. One of the White House's own special envoys to the area, General Anthony Zinni (2001-03), was dismissed from the role. "I witnessed, at the very least," he later wrote "clear negligence, carelessness, and unaccountability: at worst, lying, ineptitude, and dishonesty."
Additional Factors
Cheney was not completely to blame for the Iraq campaign. Even before 9/11, Wolfowitz had pushed for such action. He had drafted a memorandum setting out scenarios in which American interests might be compromised (encompassing "obtaining crucial commodities, mostly Persian Gulf oil"). Wolfowitz had argued that "the United States should be prepared to operate alone when cooperative measures cannot be arranged," specifically referencing defense operations against Iraq.
Bush too had arrived in the White House generally inclined on executing what his predecessor had specifically avoided to do in 1991; topple Saddam. After he had been fired by the White House, the treasury secretary Paul O'Neill recounted how, at the initial gathering of the National Security Council in January 2001, Bush had announced his objective of lowering America's participation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mooted armed intervention against Iraq.
Bush carried a private grievance against Saddam, convinced he had been responsible for a plot to murder his predecessor, President George HW Bush, on a journey to Kuwait in 1993. He furthermore objected to that one of the largest hotels in Baghdad had a surface artwork with a likeness of his father's face that all visitors had to step on.
Investigation Approaches
But it was Cheney who was among the most vociferous advocating invading Iraq, consistently referencing intelligence reports that were either insubstantial or entirely deceptive. He supported what the Bush administration indirectly described as "intensive questioning", the application of simulated drowning and harsh treatment.
Answering a Senate document in 2014 that determined that no actionable intelligence had resulted from the torture, Cheney rejected the conclusions as "riddled with crap". He stated to Fox News: "We asked [the CIA] to implement measures and put in place programmes to apprehend the individuals who took the lives of 3,000 of us on 9/11 and make sure it never happened again. That is precisely what they did and they merit a lot of credit."
Public Persona
Cheney enjoyed monikers given to him by critics such as Darth Vader and the dark figure, and by the idea that he was a dark force directing Bush. In the journalist's 2013 volume about the pair, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in the White House, Cheney is reported as stating: "Am I the evil genius in the background that nobody ever sees emerge from his domain? It's a nice way to work, truthfully."
Commercial Ties
Dispute over his commercial relationships pursued him during his tenure as VP. While he had minimal expertise in corporate affairs but strong connections in defence, especially in Saudi Arabia, he was invited to join Halliburton, one of the world's biggest petroleum conglomerates, in 1995 as chairman and CEO.
In 2000 he was selected as Bush's running mate for the White House. Controversially, during the Iraq war, Halliburton was granted US agreements totaling substantial sums.
It greatly increased his wealth. His yearly earnings during his time at the company grew from his previous salary while defence secretary to millions. When he departed in 2000 he had a compensation package totaling more than $20m|twenty
